Yes, it’s a smiley face. The OpenType spec indicates any two-byte unicode characters won’t work in a font name on Mac at all, so that lessens the likelihood that someone actually released a font with such a name.

There are a few reasons why smiley is a better solution:

1. Webkit+Font Management software can mess up local references, like turning glyphs into A blocks.

2. On OS X, Font Management software may alter system settings to show a dialog when trying to access a local() font that’s accessible outside of Library/Fonts. More detail on my bulletproof post. Font Explorer X is also known to mess up other stuff in Firefox.

3. Although it’s unlikely, you could reference a local() font which is completely different than what you think it is. (Typophile post on different fonts, same name) At the very least its a risk, and you’re ceding control of the type to both the browser and host machine. This risk may not be worth the benefit of avoiding the font download.